The matter is of Udupi’s Women’s PU College. Six Muslim girl students allege that the principal is not allowing them to wear hijab in class. Also, they are not being allowed to speak in Urdu, Arabic and Beri languages. The principal says that girl students can wear hijab in the campus but it is not allowed in the classroom.
Six Muslim girl students of Udupi’s Women’s College stand outside the classroom to protest against not allowing them to wear the hijab. (Photo Credits: Twitter/@masood_manna)
Mangalore: Six Muslim girl students of Women’s PU College in Udupi, Karnataka have alleged that the principal is not allowing them to wear hijab in class.
The girl students also complained that they were not being allowed to speak in Urdu, Arabic and Beri languages. The girls have been standing outside the class in protest for three days.
The girl students claimed that their parents had even contacted the principal, Rudra Gowda, but he refused to discuss the issue.
The girls told that their attendance was not even being recorded for the last three days and they feared that this might reduce their attendance in the college.
On the other hand, college principal Rudra Gowda said that girl students can wear hijab on campus but it is not allowed inside the classroom. This rule is being followed to ensure uniformity in the classroom.
The principal said that a parent-teacher meeting would also be convened soon on this issue.
Meanwhile, Social Democratic Party of India’s (SDPI) Udupi unit president Nazir Ahmed said that if girl students were not allowed to sit in class wearing hijab, they would protest.
According to Hindustan Times, a student told the media, “We were asked to bring our parents to the college, but when they arrived, the school authorities made them wait for three to four hours.”
Another student said, ‘Before wearing the hijab everything was fine, but now we are being discriminated against in this way.’
Rudra Gowda, principal of the college said, “There is no provision in our school rules to keep the hijab as a uniform. For the last three days, out of 60 Muslim girl students, six are reaching the college wearing hijab. So, we have not allowed them to attend classes. If they remove the hijab they can attend classes. We have called his family members and discussed the issue.
On Saturday, a delegation including some college students along with some members of Islamic Organization of India approached District Collector Kurma Rao regarding the incident. The five girls who were barred from entering the class were part of the delegation.
This issue has come to the fore at a time when the Karnataka government is pushing for an anti-conversion bill. The bill is yet to become law as it is yet to be approved by the Legislative Council.
Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai termed the bill both constitutional and legal. He has said that the purpose of this bill is to get rid of the menace of conversion.
(with input from news agency language)
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